


In The Woods Somewhere

by things-we-used-tc-share (Heavydirtys0ul)



Series: Wasteland, Baby! [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Fae!Roman, M/M, Prince!Roman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 05:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19882636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heavydirtys0ul/pseuds/things-we-used-tc-share
Summary: In the evening night, the trees that never change with the seasons look inviting to Patton, a human with a soft heart, who, upon hearing a scream darts into the middle of a hunt to save a life he doesn't have.





	In The Woods Somewhere

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [every other page is a mirror](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15749508) by [SoDoRoses (FairyChess)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FairyChess/pseuds/SoDoRoses). 



> Warnings for: threat, anxiety, feelings of being watched and followed, Fae hunt and also ridiculously attractive men that could kill you in a heartbeat.

_"I raised myself, m_ _y legs were weak,_

_I prayed my mind, b_ _e good to me,_

_An awful noise, filled the air,_

_I heard a scream, in the woods somewhere,"_

_-In the Woods Somewhere, Hozier_

* * *

Patton is very good at having not-so-good ideas. He's curious by nature, and sometimes that curiosity outweighs his logical reasoning because even if the stories aren't true there are a lot of things in the woods that can kill you. He'd grown up on these stories, of the neighbours in the forest; but they are just that, even so, nobody goes into the woods at the roadside over the small hills, even less come back. 

Yet, it’s as though the trees have mouths that are calling to him (Those mouths could eat you up kid, _run_ ), and he can’t look away, standing at the side of the road as he stares up at those iron gates and wonders, _is there something on the other side?_ A flash crosses his eyes, maybe another pair staring back; then he hears it. A scream, a haunted and _terrified_ scream and that is all it takes for Patton, whose heart is too big for his body as he scrambles through the gates and chases the sound. The gates clang shut behind him, the lock clicking back into place, and it is so loud. Normal people would run away and he has no idea what he’ll do once he reaches the source of the scream when he can’t even fight. But he knows he has to help, he knows that he is filled with the longing to protect someone he doesn’t know; an incompressible pull is dragging him forward and catapulting his body into action.

That’s not the only thing he hears. Laughter, whispering at the back of his neck as he runs faster (the stories are true kid, _run, run, **run**_ ) His hands flail as though to push himself forward and he swears he feels another hand brush over his. The forest shifts and changes around him and he does not realise at first, but as the blood pounds in his ears he notices the trees are _different_. At the front of the forest the trees had been cracked, wet, the leaves had been lost to time, in a way that shouldn't make sense really, because those trees never change and he had never noticed until he stood in the midst of an autumnal scene in the middle of summer. A choked sound crawls up his heaving lungs as the trees around him seem full of oranges and browns. A huff seems to come from whatever is behind him, and suddenly the laughter is gone. Patton heaves a shaking breath.

He looks to the side through his curls and pushes his glasses up to his nose as he meets the eyes of something not _quite_ human.

It’s his turn to scream as he takes off (should’ve stayed where you were, summer will be no kinder). The trees change again as the adrenaline runs through him, the scene filling with blossoms with a heat that makes him want to choke on his own lungs, something about this place is making him feel as though he is being suffocated, like hands around his throat; pushing, pushing, strangling, _throttling_. Patton stumbles a little and his hands scramble through the dirt, he hears a laugh, it’s warm and heated and full of _something_ that he doesn’t want to think about.

Patton forces his feet to keep running until the trees look a little less cluttered, daffodils clamber through the Earth as the young man’s legs give out. The air feels still here, a gentle breeze caresses his body and suddenly his lungs don’t feel so full. A figure stands in front of him, and Patton finds he is staring at bare feet and screws his eyes shut. “It’s okay, little one, you are _safe_ ,” a hand with well-rounded nails comes into his vision and Patton shakes. He doesn’t want to look at the face of the creature before him.

But he does, he hesitantly meets deep red eyes and gasps out a sob of fear, knees buckling under the weight of the physical stress and the emotional terror “ _Please_ …please don’t hurt me.” The creature kneels, a hand on the Human’s shoulder. His smile is sharp and he knows it, there is nothing he can do about that.

“It's okay, little prince, you are safe here, I will not harm you, and I cannot lie.” Patton does not realise he is holding his breath, until the creature exhales deeply as though encouraging him, and finds his own lungs screaming for air. The human, shaking like a startled fawn shifts from one knee to the other and tries to find some sensation in his now aching body. There's a stitch forming in his side that is stunting his ability to inhale and exhale without wincing, but finds himself relaxing into the gaze of the... _thing_ before him. His (if that is the correct term) skin is fair and caught in a perpetual lukewarm glow of northern spring, his irises bathed in a shattering crimson that does not look as harsh or terrifying as it should, the creature's ears point, almost a whole _personality_ by themselves as they twitch with interest. Those eyes look at Patton with a nurturing expression, hand pulling away as though scared of startling the fragile little human further. The smile is still too pointed, and his hair is a fiery red that curls and knots and looks like it hasn't been brushed in months, but it suits him.

“I’m not…I’m not a prince,” the small human with a tinier voice utters finally, his hand catching the other being's to steady himself, the bright blues of his eyes staring but not for too long, trying to digest what he is interacting with and finding he can only look for so many seconds at a time before his heart begins to stutter in its chest. He is not sure if he should find this man, this _thing_ , this eldritch equivalent of a flower in bloom, as attractive as he does, but he does know that beauty this (literally) divine must come at a price; one he is only half sure he's willing to pay. He can feel his mind fogging at the edges, like a window kept shut throughout the night, and closes his eyes in response to hold off the headache forming.

“With beauty that... _royal_ , you most certainly are,” Patton blushes a little, his eyes going back to the ground. “You're lucky you made it this far, little one, you should _not_ come into the forest alone at this time, you should not come into the forest at all if it may be helped, surely you must have known of the dangers?”

“I…I heard a scream, I wanted to help,.” The look that crosses the creature’s face is soft, almost in admiration. It should take a little time for a being such as himself to be smitten with a human, but smitten he was already. A heart as pretty as a face? He simply _has_ to have this one. “I couldn’t find who screamed.”

“It was only a fox, little prince, a trick played by the winter and summer folk to lure you in, they get hungry as summer dawns,” the way he says ‘little prince’ sends a shiver running through the small human, the warm sort of shiver that has a quiet and heavy sigh escaping him. His cheeks heat again. “Are you harmed in any way?” The tone of his voice is full, so very full. Full of what? Patton doesn't know, he doesn't know how to articulate the warmth that flushes through his body as he sees the care in the other's face and words, something that contrasts so very greatly to the needle-like teeth and dark eyes. 

“No, not at all,” The words come out breathy, like a sigh that is in a daze, or the the sound you make when you grasp warm water after being out in the freezing cold all day. The creature smiles and it isn't scary, Patton still feels the edges of his mind fogging up, but he finds his cheeks flushing and his body relaxing into the gaze of something new. He should be scared, he knows that he should be scared. If the stories are true and this person is what he assumes to be residing in the midst of a spring clearing, he could be in a danger like no other. Instead, he finds his tired mind remarking how beautiful and kind the smile that is to given him, is.

“Ah, I apologise,” the creature withdraws, disappearing the contact between their hands with a look of conflicted and playful sorrow “I forget sometimes that I influence humans in such a way, it has been a while since I last saw one so up close and personal."

“What are you, precisely?” Patton finally says, trying to look away, but he can’t, not from those terrifyingly beautiful eyes.

“I see, you haven’t figured it out yet,” he steps back and gestures to the ground, Patton sits a little too obediently. “Your world that you know, that you share with us, it has rules I believe you refer to as Science, yes?” A small nod “We make sure the Science works, I am Prince Roman, of the Spring Court, this is my part of this forest, each country has their own princes and kings, but unlike your general monarchy we don’t inherit it, we fight for it, it is a very hard process for people like us because we make sure things live, the Fae of the Winter Court are a little more bloodthirsty, their fights for monarchy tends to create a dead silence for a while”.

Patton shudders, looking uncomfortable for a moment “I should probably not tell you my name, should I?” his mind starts to regain a little more awareness, like he's resurfacing from underwater, or a black and white photo that is bleeding colour into it. Roman still does not look any less beautiful though, but he does strike the human as just a little bit more intimidating now his cognitive functions are returning. His gaze fixates again on those sharp teeth, and wonders in an absent fashion if a bite from them would really hurt, or if like a snake it would contain venom. Then he decides, somewhat, that those trains of thoughts are best stored away for when his mind does not feel like a muscle that has fallen asleep.

“You can if you want and you can’t if you cannot, either way, I will find something to call you, little prince.” It is not because of the fond nickname this near stranger has given him that Patton does not want to divulge his name, however, nobody had ever spoken to him like he is anything so fascinating in his life. He doesn't know why Roman calls him a prince when he is barely even a pauper, however, a calm sort of bliss crosses his mind every time the nickname slips from that sharp mouth.

“That works,” He finally gives a small smile, and Roman’s eyes widen like he’d seen something beautiful; a man who watches the birth of flowers and trees and stars, looking at a mortal boy who smiles so nicely, and thinking it must be the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. The smile he gives back is sharp yet soft, leaning a head onto his hand in adoration. He bows his head for a moment, almost submissively, before realising Patton will not yet know what that means and offers his hand instead.

“You should stay here until the sun rises, then you will be safe, but please, my prince, return, I will guide you to safety next time, they cannot harm you when you are with me, no one is stupid enough to try and stake a claim of a protected human,” Patton doesn’t know why he says yes, he really doesn’t, except maybe it’s because Roman’s staring at him like the sun rose and set in his eyes.

But he does say _yes_.


End file.
